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Glasscock v. Corliss3/10/2005
FOR PUBLICATION
Case Summary
After Rae Corliss was terminated from employment, she won a defamation judgment against two executives of her former employer. On appeal, one executive argues that he should have received summary judgment on the defamation claim, but his statements sufficiently imputed criminality or occupational misconduct to merit consideration by a jury. The executives waived their argument that the trial court lacked personal jurisdiction because the defamatory acts occurred outside Indiana by seeking summary judgment on defamation. Their argument that damages were excessive also is unsuccessful because the law allows the jury to presume substantial damages after finding defamation per se. We therefore affirm the trial court's judgment.
Factual and Procedural History
The facts most favorable to the trial court's judgment are as follows: Décor Gravure Corporation employed Corliss for fourteen years. For most of this period, she was national marketing director. On November 21, 1995, the president of Décor Gravure, Dale Glasscock, sent Corliss a letter stating that her employment was terminated and that all unpaid sales commissions were forfeited. The letter stated that some "factors which entered into the decision" to terminate included: (1) Corliss moved her office from a Décor Gravure plant to her home " ontrary to specific instructions" from company personnel and (2) "discrepancies" in Corliss's expense reports.
At a meeting with two designers who worked with Décor Gravure but were not employees, Glasscock said that Corliss was terminated because she had been padding her expenses and buying gifts for family and friends with company money. At the same meeting, company executive Wayne Moore said that Corliss was a liar and a thief. Moore later told the designers in a telephone call that the police were about to arrest Corliss, and he repeated his characterization that she was a liar and a thief in several later telephone calls.
At a different meeting, which included the two designers as well as company sales staff, Glasscock said that Corliss was terminated because of discrepancies in her expense reports and for buying gifts for family and friends. About four years after Corliss was terminated, Moore told employee Bobby Barker that Corliss was a thief.
Moore traveled from Décor Gravure's offices in Alabama to meet with law enforcement officials in Elkhart County to seek investigation of Corliss's expense reports. No charges were ever filed. Some of the losses Décor Gravure claimed from Corliss's conduct were compensated by insurance.
Corliss obtained other work in the manufactured housing industry shortly after leaving Décor Gravure, although for less compensation. Individuals in the industry questioned her and others about whether she was terminated from Décor Gravure for dishonest conduct.
This action originated as an action by Décor Gravure against Corliss in 1996. Corliss counterclaimed for abuse of process, breach of contract, unpaid wages, defamation and retaliatory discharge. She also filed a third-party complaint against Glasscock and Moore individually, alleging defamation and abuse of process.
Only the third-party claims are at issue in this appeal. Glasscock and Moore sought and obtained summary judgment on the abuse of process claims. The defamation claims were tried to a jury in October 2003. The jury found for Corliss against each defendant, awarding $100,000 in compensatory damages and $125,000 in punitive damages against Glasscock and $25,000 in compensatory damages and $50,000 in punitive damages against Moore.
Discussion and Decisio
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